Shit & Shine on a jazz label? Yes indeed. This is THE Shit & Shine with a brand new tape “Chakin” on Astral Spirits. We couldn’t be more excited about it. Craig Clouse has gained notoriety over the years for wide arrays of stylistic moves from long­form repetition & noise rock to his more recent dance/disco output on labels like Diagonal, Gangsigns, Rocket Recordings, Load, Rock is Hell, Riot Season and more. He’s worked throughout the years with many different collaborators but the list on “Chakin’” is stunning, here Clouse is joined by Ingebrigt Haker­Flaten (The Thing, Atomic, Icepick, etc), Pete Simonelli (The Enablers), King Coffey (Butthole Surfers) & Nate Cross (Marriage).
The music on “Chakin’” is true to the spirit of Shit & Shine as we see repetitive loops but with a focus on improvisation overlayed onto the grooves…layers of Wurlizter and Rhodes electric pianos, assorted percussion, acoustic bass and more permeate throughout. Half the album was recorded live in the “Chak” and some may even recognize bits from the amazing Shit & Shine Tuesday Jazz Chat series on YouTube.
“Denim Do’s and Don’ts” is the real masterpiece here though. A 17 minute free jazz meets krautrock and all zones in between journey complete with narration from Pete Simonelli & bass playing from Ingebrigt Haker­Flaten. A truly epic Shit & Shine track that builds off past accomplishments but also looks toward the future, as Clouse always tends to do.